Friday, January 13, 2012

A Historical Look at the Aussie Millions from 2003-2011

The following two articles originally appeared on PokerNews and were appropriated for the Crown's Aussie Millions Poker Championship website. Here are the links to all the articles and the articles themselves.

On Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012, the Aussie Millions Poker Championshipwill celebrate its 10th Anniversary at the Crown Casino is Melbourne, Australia. The tournament series, which runs for nearly three weeks and features 26 different events, has become one of the premiere poker events on the circuit.

In preparation for the 2012 Aussie Millions, we're taking a look at the event’s history, beginning with the inaugural event in 2003, the year credited with sparking the poker boom.

“Silver Fox” Becomes the First Aussie Millions Champion

By today’s standards, the maiden Aussie Millions was quite small. Aside from the Main Event, the largest buy-in of the series’ 10 events was AUD$5,000, modest compared to the AUD$250,000 tournament that debuted last year. That first year was comprised mainly of players from the South Pacific, as well as a smattering of pros from the United Kingdom including Harry Demetriou, Ram Vaswani, Joe Beevers, and Lucy Rokach. In addition, a few Americans traveled to Melbourne including Erik Seidel, who has since become a regular at the Aussie Millions.

2003 Aussie Millions Results

Event

Winner

$360 Pot-Limit Hold’em

Luke Chezick (NZ)

$360 Limit Hold’em

Carlo Citrone (U.K.)

$1,500 Limit Hold’em

Michael Tomeny (USA)

$1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha

Sherkhan Fernood (Afghanistan)

$5,000 Heads-up No Limit Hold’em

George Mamacas (Australia)

$200 NLHE Pioneers Event

Paul Pedersen (NZ)

$1,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em

Sherkhan Fernood (Afghanistan)

$1,500 Limit Omaha Hi/Lo

Mel Judah (Australia)

$5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha

Lucy Rokach (U.K.)

$10,500 NLHE Main Event

Peter Costa (U.K.)

The first Aussie Millions Main Event attracted 122 players and created a prize pool of AUD$1,220,000. The final table ended up being a battle between Australia and the U.K., with the former having five runners in contention against the latter’s four. Appropriately, Leo Boxell of Australia squared off against the U.K.’s Peter Costa in a heads-up match considered one of the best in Aussie Millions history. It contained 14 all-in bets and in the end, the Englishman, nicknamed “Silver Fox,” took down the AUD$394,870 prize and became the first Aussie Millions champion.

Costa, who was known by many through his appearances on Late Night Poker, was certainly the big story from that first year, but it is also worth noting that two of the Hendon Mob’s four members (Ram Vaswani and Joe Beevers) made the final table, and another member, Barny Boatman, bubbled in 10th place.

2003 Aussie Millions Champion Peter Costa

2003 Aussie Millions Main Event Results

Buy-in

Entrants

Prize Pool

$10,500

122

$1,220,000

Place

Player

Prize

1st

Peter Costa (U.K.)

$394,870

2nd

Leo Boxell (Australia)

$225,640

3rd

Harry Demetriou (U.K.)

$124,640

4th

Sam Khouiss (Australia)

$101,538

5th

Joe Cabret (Australia)

$78,974

6th

Ram Vaswani (U.K.)

$67,696

7th

Martin Comer (Australia)

$56,410

8th

Erich Kollmann (Austria)

$45,128

9th

Joe Beevers (U.K.)

$33,846

Another U.K. Victory in Aussie Land

The Aussie Millions began to grow in 2004, and an extra tournament was added to the schedule. In addition to the Australian and U.K. contingents, a group of Americas made the trek and found success. In fact, three U.S. citizens captured preliminary titles: Seth Towle, Steve Zolotow, and Andy Glazer, who took down two events.

2004 Aussie Millions Results

Event

Winner

$100 No Limit Hold’em

Marty Wilson (U.K.)

$500 Limit Hold’em

John Homann (Australia)

$500 Limit Omaha

Arul Thillai (Australia)

$500 Pot Limit Hold’em

Andy Glazer (USA)

$500 Pot Limit Omaha

Seth Towle (USA)

$1,600 Limit Hold’em

Sam Korman (Australia)

$1,600 Limit Seven-card Stud

Andy Glazer (USA)

$5,200 Heads-up NLHE

Per Werner Swennson (Sweden)

$2,100 Limit Omaha Hi/Lo

Michael Guttman (Australia)

$1,100 Pot Limit Hold’em

Mike Ivin (Australia)

$5,200 Pot Limit Omaha

Steve Zolotow (USA)

$10,500 NLHE Main Event

Tony Bloom (England)

The final table was comprised of two Americans, two Englishmen, and five Australians, making the probability of a local capturing the national title quite high. Unfortunately, that hope diminished significantly when the first four eliminations were Aussies. Not long after, the last Australian, David Hatzis, was sent packing in fourth place, leaving Americans Kenna Jamesand Jesse Jones to take on England’s Tony Bloom.

James was the first to fall in third place, and Jones followed him back across the Pacific in second. Bloom became the second Englishman in a row to win the title, and took home AUD$426,500 for his performance.

2004 Aussie Millions Champ Tony Bloom

2004 Aussie Millions Main Event Results

Buy-in

Entrants

Prize Pool

$10,500

133

$1,330,000

Place

Player

Prize

1st

Tony Bloom (England)

$426,500

2nd

Jesse Jones (USA)

$243,700

3rd

Kenna James (USA)

$134,000

4th

David Hatzis (Australia)

$109,700

5th

Mark Banin (England)

$85,300

6th

Brian Hull (Australia)

$73,100

7th

Mike Ivin (Australia)

$60,900

8th

Han Luu (Australia)

$48,700

9th

Tino Lechich (Australia)

$36,600

Field Nearly Doubles in 2005

Tony Bloom, the defending Aussie Millions champ, returned to the Aussie Million in 2005 and found success in the preliminary events, taking down the AUD$1,600 Limit Omaha Hi/Lo tournament, but the real story was the explosion in attendance. This was evidenced by the appearance of some new poker sharks including Mike Sexton, Scotty Nguyen, and Marcel Luske.

Sexton had the best series of the three, placing third in the AUD$5,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em event for AUD$16,000, finishing 11th in the Main Event for AUD$30,000, and winning the AUD$20,000 Non-Australian High Stakes Speed Pokerevent for AUD$120,000.

2005 Aussie Millions Results

Event

Winner

$200 No Limit Hold’em

Richard Ashby (U.K.)

$500 Limit Hold’em

Baden Logan (Australia)

$560 Pot Limit Omaha

Marty Wilson (U.K.)

$550 Pot Limit Hold’em

Mick Guttman (Australia)

$550 Tag Team

James Potter/Nick Georgoulas (Australia)

$1,100 Pot Limit Hold’em

Tino Lechich (Australia)

$1,100 Limit Seven-card Stud

Han Luu (Australia)

$1,600 Speed Poker

Michael Thuritz (Sweden)

$1,600 Limit Omaha Hi/Lo

Tony Bloom (U.K.)

$5,000 Pot Limit Omaha

Marcel Luske (Netherlands)

$5,000 Two-card Manila

Carlo La Rosa (Australia)

$5,200 Heads-Up NLHE

Martin Comer (Australia)

$20,000 High Stakes Speed Poker (World)

Mike Sexton (USA)

$20,000 High Stakes Speed Poker (Australia)

Lee Nelson (NZ)

$10,000 NLHE Main Event

Jamil Dia (NZ)

Marcel Luske headlined that year’s Main Event final table, though he made a quick exit in ninth place. Once again, an Australian failed to captured the title, despite three nationals making the final table, though a local player emerged victorious.Jamil Dia, a Lebanese banker from nearby New Zealand, defeated American Mike Simkins in heads-up action to capture the first Aussie Millions AUD$1 million first-place prize.

The poker scene in Australia boomed like no other after Joe Hachem, a regular at the Crown Casino, won the World Series of Poker Main Event in 2005. There was six months of anticipation between Hachem’s big win and the 2006 Aussie Millions, and expectations were high. The allure of money attracted even more poker stars from North America, including Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein, Kathy Liebert, David Williams, John Juanda, Antonio Esfandiari, and Scott Fishman.

Juanda was the only one of the aforementioned players to find success at the Aussie Millions that year, winning AUD$1 million for emerging victorious in the $100,000 Speed Poker Million Dollar Challenge. He defeated such pros as Ivey, Greenstein, Mike Sexton, Tony G, and Jeff Lisandro.

2006 Aussie Millions Results

Event

Winner

$560 No Limit Hold’em

Paul Taylor (Australia)

$565 Pot Limit /No Limit Hold’em

Robert Lumb (U.K.)

$1,100 Limit Hold’em

Andrew Kanaridis (Australia)

$1,100 No Limit Hold’em

Olle Sundin (Sweden)

$1,600 Speed Poker

Ray Sanchez (Sweden)

$1,100 Limit Omaha Hi-Lo

Steve Hegyi (Australia)

$3,200 Two-card Manila

Fred Bart (Australia)

$1,150 No Limit Hold’em

Sam Khouiss (Australia)

$3,200 Pot Limit Omaha

Steve Hegyi (Australia)

$100,000 Speed Poker Million Dollar Challenge

John Juanda (USA)

$1,100 Teams’ Event Pot Limit Hold’em

Robin Saab & David Saab (Australia)

$560 No Limit Hold’em

Steve Accardo (Australia)

$10,500 NLHE Main Event

Lee Nelson (NZ)

The 2006 Main Event Final Table had some familiar names in Kenna James (his second appearance at a Aussie Millions Main Event final table), Shannon Shorr, and Nenad Medic. The final table belonged to 63-year-old Lee Nelson, however, who outlasted the competition and captured the AUD$1,295,000 prize, the largest prize in tournament poker outside of the U.S. up to that point. Lee, who became the second New Zealander to capture the title in as many years, was no stranger to poker, being ranked the top Australian poker player from 2000 to 2006 by PokerNetwork.

2006 Aussie Millions Champion Lee Nelson

2006 Aussie Millions Main Event Results

Buy-in

Entrants

Prize Pool

$10,500

418

$4,180,000

Place

Player

Prize

1st

Lee Nelson (NZ)

$1,295,800

2nd

Robert Neary (USA)

$689,700

3rd

Nenad Medic (USA)

$376,200

4th

Shannon Shorr (USA)

$271,700

5th

Jeff Sealey (USA)

$209,000

6th

Russell Davies (Australia)

$167,200

7th

Wes Bugiera (Australia)

$125,400

8th

Mark Vos (Australia)

$83,600

9th

Kenna James (USA)

$83,600

The Great Dane Avoids Getting Fricke-Rolled

If there was a year that the Aussie Millions came into its own, that year would have been 2007. It was a year of records as more than 2,000 entries across 15 events, and more than AUD$10 million in prize money was disbursed. By then, all the notable players in poker were traveling to Melbourne in January, including Mike Matusow, Carlos Mortensen, and Huck Seed. Erick Lindgren found success in Melbourne in 2007 as he took down the AUD$100,000 event, defeating Erik Seidel in heads-up play and earning AUD$1 million.

2007 Aussie Millions Results

Event

Winner

$1,100 No-Limit Hold’em

Gabriel Xiourouffa (Australia)

$1,100 Limit Hold’em

Nick Sutar (Australia)

$1,050 Omaha Hi-Lo

Jethro Horowitz (Australia)

$1,100 No-Limit Hold’em w/ $1,000 rebuys

Gary Benson (Australia)

$1,000 PokerPro No-Limit Hold’em

Adam Weiss (USA)

$3,200 Pot-Limit Omaha w/ $3,000 rebuys

Jesse Jones (USA)

$1,650 No-Limit Hold’em Feature Event

Alex Masterman (UK)

$100,500 No-Limit Hold’em

Erick Lindgren (USA)

$5,200 Australian Heads-up Championship

David Saab (Australia)

$1,100 No-Limit Hold’em Teams

Mark Roland/Matt Vengrin (USA)

$550 No-Limit Hold’em

Jozef Berec (Australia)

$3,200 Two-card Manila w/ $3,000 rebuys

Mark Ericksen (Australia)

$10,500 NLHE Main Event

Gus Hansen (Denmark)

The 2007 Aussie Millions Main Event drew 747 entrants, thanks in large part to online qualifiers, but when the final table was reached, a plethora of pros headline, though none hailed from Australia. Kristy Gazes and Marc Karam were both at the final table, though they were eliminated in seventh and sixth respectively. Andy Black was also there, though he was sent packing in third place, leaving American Jimmy “Gobboboy” Fricke to battle “The Great Dane,” Gus Hansen, heads up.

It took 47 hands of heads-up play, but Hansen ultimately dispatched the online qualifier to collect the largest first-place prize to date --AUD$1,500,000. Hansen's experience also led to Hansen’s well-received book, Every Hand Revealed, where he reviewed the hands he played on the way to winning the 2007 Aussie Millions Poker Championship.

2007 Aussie Millions Champion Gus Hansen

2007 Aussie Millions Main Event Results

Buy-in

Entrants

Prize Pool

$10,500

747

$7,470,000

Place

Player

Prize

1st

Gus Hansen (Denmark)

$1,500,000

2nd

Jimmy Fricke (USA)

$1,000,000

3rd

Andrew Black (Ireland)

$700,000

4th

Julius Colman (Vic)

$500,000

5th

Hans Martin Vogl (Germany)

$400,000

6th

Marc Karam (Canada)

$300,000

7th

Kristy Gazes (USA)

$220,000

The Aussie Millions Poker Championship is currently celebrating its 10th anniversary at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia. In preparation for the 2012 Aussie Millions, we're taking a look back at the event’s esteemed history. We already examined the Aussie Millions’ early years,from 2003 to 2007, so now we thought we’d round it out by surveying the latter years — 2008 to the present.

Kostritsyn Conquers Largest Main Event Ever

The preliminary events of the 2008 Aussie Millions saw eight Australians, four Americans, one Englishman, and one Swede capture titles, includingJimmy Fricke, who followed up his 2007 Main Event runner-up finish with a win in the $550 Limit Seven Card Stud/Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo/Razzevent. If you recall, Fricke had satellited into the Main Event the year prior, which resulted in a small boom for the Aussie Millions; in fact, online stars such as Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad, Josh “JJProdigy” Field, andTom “durrrr” Dwan all made the trip Down Under, and online qualifiers comprised a large portion of the Main Event field.

2008 Aussie Millions Results

Event

Winner

$1,100 No-Limit Hold’em

Vincent Wan (Australia)

$1,100 Pot-Limit Hold’em

Christopher Chronis (Australia)

$550 Limit Seven-Card Stud/Stud Hi-Lo/Razz

Jimmy Fricke (USA)

$1,100 Limit Hold’em

Jamie Pickering (Australia)

$1,150 No-Limit Hold’em w/ $1,000 rebuys

Michael Pedley (Australia)

$1,650 No-Limit Hold’em Feature Event

Marlon Goonawardne (Australia)

$3,250 Pot-Limit Omaha w/ $3,000 rebuys

Lee Watkinson (USA)

$100,000 Hold’em Challenge

Howard Lederer (USA)

$2,200 Pot Limit Hold’em/Omaha/Omaha Hi-Lo

Michael Pesek (USA)

$5,300 Australian Heads-up Championship

Jeff Garza (UK)

$1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Teams

Ross Stewart & Alex Williamson (Australia)

$2,200 No-Limit Hold’em Six-handed

Felix Berglund (Sweden)

$1,100 No-Limit Hold’em Turbo

David Lee (Australia)

$10,200 H.O.R.S.E.

Billy Argyros (Australia)

$10,500 NLHE Main Event

Alexander Kostritsyn (Russia)

Speaking of the Main Event, 2008 was the peak of the event’s attendance, as 780 players took to the felt and created a prize pool of AUD$7.8 million. Some of the pros who played and cashed included Erick Lindgren (73rd), Tom “durrrr” Dwan (62nd),Kenna James (53rd), Kevin Saul (45th), Andy Black (34th), Matt Stout (24th), and Max Pescatori (10th).

No Australian had ever captured the Aussie Millions title, but the odds of it happening were good because five of the seven final tablists were Aussies; in fact, Michael Chrisanthopoulos was the massive chip leader with 6.81 million in chips. Even so, another player headlined the final table — the legendary Erik Seidel.

Slowly but surely, the Australian players began to hit the rail and eventually left Chrisanthopoulos to do battle against Seidel and a 21-year-old Russian by the name of Alexander Kostritsyn. The Aussie was soon felled in third place, meaning the title would leave the country for the sixth year in a row.

In this instance, experience was no match for the vivacity of youth, with Kostritsyn dispatching Seidel when his connected on a flop of . Kostritsyn checked, Seidel bet 550,000 with , Kostritsyn moved all-in, and Seidel, who was committed, made the call. Neither the turn nor river changed a thing, and Kostritsyn laid claim to the AUD$1.65 million first-place prize, becoming the youngest player to win the Aussie Millions Main Event, a record that still stands today.

2008 Aussie Millions Champion Alexander Kostritsyn

2008 Aussie Millions Main Event Results

Buy-in

Entrants

Prize Pool

$10,500

780

AUD$7,800,000

Place

Player

Prize (AUD)

1st

Alexander Kostritsyn (Russia)

$1,650,000

2nd

Erik Seidel (USA)

$1,000,000

3rd

Mike Chrisanthopoulos (Australia)

$700,000

4th

Peter Ling (Australia)

$500,000

5th

Nino Marotta (Australia)

$400,000

6th

Antonio Casale (Australia)

$300,000

7th

Peter Mobbs (Australia)

$225,000

Great Scott! An Australian Wins the Aussie Millions

Entering the 2009 Aussie Millions, the Australian contingent had yet to capture the Main Event title, despite numerous final table appearances by Aussies. So it was no surprise to see them enter the new year with a fire in their bellies.

It showed in the preliminary events as several Australians captured titles including Mitchell Carle, Mel Judah, Mark Kassis,Saidal Wardak, Adam Peck, and Billy Argyros. They were joined by other winners including former champ, Lee Nelson (U.K.), who won the $1,100 Pot Limit Omaha event, Michael Binger (USA), who took down the $3,250 PLO with rebuys, and the defending champion, Alexander Kostritsyn, who proved he was not a one-hit wonder as he emerged victorious in the $10,500 H.O.R.S.E. tournament.

2009 Aussie Millions Results

Event

Winner

$550 No-Limit Hold’em

Stuart Barclay (U.K.)

$550 Pot-Limit Omaha

David Morton (U.K.)

$1,100 No-Limit Hold’em

Christian Heich (Germany)

$1,050 PokerPro No-Limit Hold’em

Mitchell Carle (Australia)

$1,100 Limit Omaha Hi-Lo

Mel Judah (Australia)

$1,100 Limit Hold’em

Zach Gruneberg (USA)

$1,100 H.O.R.S.E.

Jarred Solomon (South Africa)

$1,150 No-Limit Hold’em w/$1,000 rebuys

Mark Kassis (Australia)

$1,650 Feature Event (Bounties)

Saidal Wardak (Australia)

$100,000 Hold’em Challenge

David Steicke (Hong Kong)

$5,300 Australian Heads-up Championship

John Tabatabai (U.K.)

$1,100 Pot-Limit Omaha

Lee Nelson (NZ)

$3,250 Pot-Limit Omaha w/ rebuys

Michael Binger (USA)

$1,100 Mixed Hold’em

Adam Peck (Australia)

$2,200 No-Limit Hold’em Six-handed

Thomas Lindbjerg (Denmark)

$2,200 No-Limit Hold’em Teams

Nick & Effie Bouyioukos (Australia)

$10,500 H.O.R.S.E.

Alexander Kostritsyn (Russia)

$1,100 No-Limit Hold’em Turbo

Matthew Dietrich (Canada)

$1,100 Two-card Manila

Billy Argyros (Australia)

For the first year in Aussie Million history, the attendance dropped in the Main Event; even so, 681 players entered the tournament and created a prize pool of AUD$6.81 million. Quite a few notable players managed to notch cashes includingScotty Nguyen (50th), JP Kelly (43rd), Patrik Antonius (41st), Clonie Gowen (32nd), Annette Obrestad (21st), and Sorel Mizzi (16th).

The final table featured three Australians, two Americans, two Canadians, and two U.K. pros, and for the first time in Aussie Millions history, the trophy stayed on native soil. It happened when Australia’s Stewart Scott defeated the United States’ Peter Rho in heads-up play. Scott's pocket aces held against the Rho’s . In addition to becoming the first Australian to win the Aussie Millions title, Scott collected a first-place prize of AUD$2 million.

2009 Aussie Millions Champion Stewart Scott

2009 Aussie Millions Main Event Results

Buy-in

Entrants

Prize Pool

$10,500

681

AUD$6,810,000

Place

Player

Prize (AUD)

1st

Stewart Scott (Australia)

$2,000,000

2nd

Peter Rho (USA)

$1,000,000

3rd

Elliot Smith (Canada)

$700,000

4th

Raj Ramakrishnan (Australia)

$400,000

5th

Sam Capra (Australia)

$300,000

6th

Zach Gruneberg (USA)

$210,000

7th

Richard Ashby (U.K.)

$150,000

8th

Barny Boatman (U.K.)

$100,000

9th

Zac Fellows (Canada)

$100,000

Seidel, Obrestad, and Bach Capture Preliminary Titles

Perhaps the most notable story from the 2010 Aussie Millions was the list of notable players who captured one of the series’ 20 titles. It included Erik Seidel, who conquered a field of 26 players in the $10,500 PLO, 2009 World Series of Poker $50,000 Poker Player’s Champion, David Bach, who once again proved his mettle in mixed games by winning the $10,500 H.O.R.S.E. event, and Annette Obrestad, who took down Event #4 $1,100 PLO for AUD$40,000.

2010 Aussie Millions Results

Event

Winner

Event #1: $1,100 No-Limit Hold’em

Matthew Ephraums (Australia)

Event #2: $550 PokerPro No-Limit Hold’em

Andrew Hinrichsen (Australia)

Event #3: $1,100 Limit Hold’em

Simon Morris (Australia)

Event #4: $1,100 Po- Limit Omaha

Annette Obrestad (Norway)

Event #5: $1,650 No-Limit Hold’em w/ Bounties

Jonathan Karamalikis (Australia)

Event #6: $1,100 H.O.R.S.E.

John Joannou (Australia)

Event #7: $1,150 No-Limit Hold’em w/ Rebuys

Mike Watson (Canada)

Event #8: $100,000 Challenge

Dan Shak (USA)

Event #9: $10,500 Main Event

Tyron Krost (Australia)

Event #10: $550 PokerPro No-Limit Hold’em Shootout

Peter Vratsidis (Australia)

Event #11: $550 PokerPro Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo

Eugene Portlen (Australia)

Event #12: $550 PokerPro Seven Card Stud

Leo Boxell (Australia)

Event #13: $5,300 Australian Heads-Up Championship

Kyle McMurphy (Canada)

Event #14: $1,100 No-Limit Hold’em Teams Event

Mel Judah & Mick Guttmann (Australia)

Event #15: $10,500 Pot-Limit Omaha

Erik Seidel (USA)

Event #16: $1,100 No-Limit Hold’em

Vincent Van Der Fluit (The Netherlands)

Event #17: $1,150 NLHE/PLO w/Rebuys

Mark Segal (U.K.)

Event #18: $10,500 H.O.R.S.E.

David Bach (USA)

Event #19: $2,200 6-Handed No Limit Hold’em

Kristian Lunardi (Australia)

Event #20: $550 No-Limit Hold’em Turbo

Roland Hawkins (Australia)

Speaking of Obrestad, she topped off the 2010 Aussie Millions by navigating a field of 746 players to make a Main Event final table appearance, though her deep run came to an end in seventh place. Also of note, Sorel Mizzi followed up the previous year’s 16th-place finish by making the final table, ultimately finishing in third place for AUD$715,000.

Mizzi’s elimination left Australia’s Tyron Krost with a 2-1 chip lead over Denmark’s Frederick Jensen, and the 23-year-old finance and psychology graduate from Sydney put it to good use. In the final hand, Krost’s bested Jensen’s on a flop of . The turn and river were of no consequence, and for the second year in a row, and Australian took home the title.

2010 Aussie Millions Champion Tyron Krost

2010 Aussie Millions Main Event Results

Buy-in

Entrants

Prize Pool

$10,500

746

AUD$7,460,000

Place

Player

Prize (AUD)

1st

Tyron Krost (Australia)

$2,000,000

2nd

Frederick Jensen (Denmark)

$1,100,000

3rd

Sorel Mizzi (Canada)

$715,000

4th

Kosta Varoxis (Australia)

$450,000

5th

Peter Jetten (Canada)

$350,000

6th

Steve Friedlander (USA)

$250,000

7th

Annette Obrestad (Norway)

$175,000

8th

Stephen Shelly (Australia)

$125,000

20 Players Enter $250,000 Event

Prior to the 2011 Aussie Millions, a rumor had circulated that a $250,000 Super high Roller tournament would take place. It did, and an astounding 20 players were willing to pay the hefty price tag, including Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Phil Ivey, John Juanda,Daniel “jungleman12” Cates, and Chinese businessmen Paul Phua, Richard Yong, and Wang Qiang.

The event was designed as a turbo to ensure the aforementioned businessmen could catch a flight. Sam Trickett, who had won the $100,000 High Roller event earlier in the 2011 Aussie Millions ended up facing off against Erik Seidel in heads-up play.

It was hard to overcome the excitement of the $250,000 Super High Roller, but the 2011 Aussie Millions is also remembered as having one of the most stacked final tables in Main Event history. That event drew 721 entries, creating a prize pool of $7.21 million, and saw Sorel Mizzi make the final table for the second year in a row, finishing in ninth place for $130,000.

Also at the final table were Patrik Antonius, Chris Moorman, and Randy Dorfman, the latter entering as the chip leader. However, as all three would soon learn, the day belonged to Australian David Gorr, who dispatched each in turn.

Antonius fell in eighth place when Gorr’s two pair defeated his pocket kings, and Moorman, who missed a flush draw against Gorr’s flopped trips, followed him out the door. A little while later, Dorfman was eliminated in fifth place when Gorr spiked an ace on the river to crack his pocket tens. Gorr went on to win the event for AUD$2 million.